UC-NRLF 


S3D 


The  Abridged  Debaters'  Handbook  Series 


SELECTED  ARTICLES 


ON 


GOVERNMENT  OWNERSHIP 
OF  THE  TELEGRAPH 


COMPILED   BY 

EDITH   M.   PHELPS 


MINNEAPOLIS 
THE  H.  W.  WILSON  COMPANY 

1912 


EXPLANATORY  NOTE 

The  question  of  governmental  control  of  the  telegraph  has 
been  discussed'  for  the  last  thirty-five  or  forty  years,  and  is  still 
under  consideration  at  the  present  time.  Postmasters-General 
Creswell  and  Wanamaker  made  vigorous  efforts  at  various 
times  to  secure  action  from  Congress,  and,  in  his  annual  report 
for  1911,  Postmaster-General  Hitchcock  recommended  that  a 
governmental  telegraph  be  adopted  as  a  part  of  our  postal  sys- 
tem. It  is  in  this  form  that  the  question  is  debated  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages.  Necessarily,  the  reprints  in  this  pamphlet  are 
limited  to  brief  discussions  of  the  arguments  for  and  against 
the  question,  and  the  student  desiring  a  broader  treatment  'of 
the  subjects  advised  to  read  as  widely  as  possible  from  the 
references  listed  in  the  accompanying  bibliography. 

BRIEF 

Resolved,  That  the  government  should  own*  and  operate  a 
telegraph  system  in  connection  with  the  postoffice. 

INTRODUCTION 

I.     It  has  often  been   declared 

A.  That  there   are  serious   evils   in  our  telegraph   system 
which  would  be  remedied  by  governmental  ownership. 

B.  That  the  United  States  is  now  the  only  large  country 
still  under  private'ownership. 

II.     It  is  generally  admitted  * 

A.  That  the  telegraph  system  in  the  United  States  is  vir- 
tually a  monopoly. 

B.  That  the  government'-  ha  ;  rhV  i>o;wer  to  establish  a  sys- 
tem in  .connection  with  the  postoffice. 


I.     There  are  serious  evils  in  our  present  telegraph  system. 

A.  The   system   is    a   private   monopoly. 

B.  The    companies    are    greatly   overcapitalized   and    rates 
are   exorbitant. 


C.  Facilities  are  inadequate  and  the  service  is  poor. 

D.  An   objectionable   influence   is    exerted   over  the   press 
and  over  politics. 

E.  Discrimination  is  practised. 

F.  Modern  methods  and  appliances  are  not  used. 

G.  Employees   are   unjustly   treated. 

II.     These  evils  would  be  remedied  by  a  government  telegraph 
operated  in  connection  with  the  postoffice. 

A.  Rates  would  be  reduced. 

B.  Facilities    and    service    would    be    improved    and    ex- 
tended. 

C.  Discrimination    would   cease. 

D.  The  benefits  of  the  telegraph  would  be  brought  within 
reach  of  all. 

III.     A  postal  telegraph  is  both  practicable  and  expedient. 

A.  Control    of  the   telegraph   is    a.  proper   and   necessary 
function  of  government. 

B.  The  post-office  is  well  adapted  to  maintain  and  oper- 
ate the  telegraph. 

C.  There  would  be   little  financial   difficulty   either  in   its 
purchase  or  maintenance. 

D.  The  argument  that   it  would  lead  to  political  corrup- 
tion is   unsounc^ 

E.  The  chief  opposition  comes  from  -the  existing  compan- 
ies. 

NEGATIVE 

I.     The  so-called  evils  of  our  present  telegraph  system  do  not 
exist. 

A.  The  system  is  not  a  monopoly. 

B.  Rates  are  not  excessive. 

C.  Facilities   and   service   are   much  better  in   the  United 
States   than   elsewhere. 

D.  The   companies   are   not   overcapitalized. 

E.  Labor  is  better  paid  than  elsewhere  and  the  system  is 
more  progressive. 

II.     Government  ownership  of  the  telegraph  would  be  unwise. 

A.  It  is  not  a  proper  function  of  government. 

B.  It  would  not  be  as  efficient  as  our  present   system. 

C.  It  would  lead  to  serious  political  evils. 


269811 


D.     It  would  be  unjust  to  present  stockholders  and  to  the 

public   generally. 

III.     Government  ownership  of  the  telegraph  would  be  imprac- 
ticable. 

A.  There   is  no   satisfactory   way   for   the  government   to 
acquire  the  telegraph. 

B.  The  postal   system   would   not   administer   it  wisely. 

C.  Government  operation  would  result  in  a  large  annual 
deficit. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A  star  (*)   preceding  a  reference  indicates  that  the  entire  arti- 
cle   or   part   of   it    has    been    reprinted    in    this   pamphlet. 

GENERAL  REFERENCES 

*Annual  Report  of  the  Postmaster  General.   1911.  pp.   14-5. 
Bliss,   William   D.   P.   New   Encyclopedia  of   Social   Reform. 

See    articles    on    Public    Ownership    and    Telegraph    and    Tele- 
phone Services. 

Brookings,  W.  Du  Bois,  and  Ringwalt,  Ralph  C.  Briefs  for  De- 
bate,  pp.    126-9.    Bibliography.    1911. 

Encyclopaedia    Britannica.    Vol.    XXVI.    pp.    525-7.    Telegraph — 
Commercial    Aspects.    University    Press,    Cambridge.    1911. 

Meyer,  Hugo  Richard.     British  State  Telegraph.     The   Macmil- 
lan  Co.,  New  York.     1907. 

New  International  Encyclopaedia.     Vol.  XIX.  pp.  96-7. 

Ringwalt,    Ralph    C.    Briefs    on    Public    Questions,    pp.     174-83. 
Bibliography.    1908. 

*United     States.       Industrial    Commission.       Reports.    giCCIII- 
CCXXV;  182-274. 

Western   Union   Telegraph    Company.      Proposed    Union   of   the 
Telegraph  and   Postal  Systems.   i28p.    1869. 
Magazine  Articles 

*Arena.     15:250-65,  -17:9-31.     Ja.-D.  '96.     Telegraph  Monopoly. 
Frank  Parsons. 

Century.     59:952-6.     Ap.  'oo.     Success  of  the  Government  Tele- 
graph in  Great  Britain.     W.  S.  Harwood. 

Current  Literature.    29:235.     Ag.  'oo.     Government  Telegraph  in 
Great  Britain. 

Equity   Series.   8:16-22.   Ja.   '06.    Plans   for   Establishing   a  Gov- 
ernment Telegraph. 


Forum.    9:450-60.    Je.    '90.    Public    Control    of    the    Telegraph. 

Bronson  C.  Keeler. 
*Harper's    Weekly.     55:22.      D.    9,    'n.      Industrial    Securities: 

Telephone  and  Telegraph  Group.     Franklin  Escher. 
Independent.   63:460-1.    Ag.  22,   '07.    National   Ownership   of  the 

Telegraph. 
Nineteenth   Century.     48:108-17.    Jl.    'oo.      Sixpenny   Telegrams. 

J.  H.  Heaton. 
North   American.    143:35-41.     Jl.   '86.      Should   the   Government 

Own   the   Telegraph?     William  A.   Phillips. 

Outlook.   94:598-9.    March    19,    '10.    Send    Your   Letters   by   Tel- 
egraph. 
Public   Opinion.     43:399-401.     F.   4,    '88.     Government    and    the 

Telegraph. 
World's  Work.     12:7478-9.     My.  '06.     Our  Dwarfed  Telegraphic 

Service. 

See  also  the  annual  reports  of  the  Postmaster  General,  and  of 
the   Western    Union    and    Postal    Telegraph    Companies. 

AFFIRMATIVE  REFERENCES 

Arena.  26:519-20.  N.  '01.  Why  the  Government  Should  Own 
the  Telegraph  and  Telephone.  Walter  Clark. 

Arena.  27:179-87;  28:188-92.  F.,  Ag.  '02.  Governmental  Own- 
ership of  the  Telegraph  and  Telephone.  Frank  Parsons. 

Arena.  36:555-6-  N.  '06.  Public  Ownership  versus  Private 
Ownership  of  Public  Utilities. 

Arena.  38:373-84.  O.  '07.  Will  Public-Ownership  Increase  or 
Decrease  Political  Corruption.  Clarence  A.  Royse. 

Congressional  Record.  34:  Appendix  210-2.  Postal  Telegraph 
and  Telephone :  Speech  of  John  J.  Lentz  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  February  20,  1901. 

*Congressional  Record.  42:  4688-90.  Ap.  13,  '08.  Naval  Ap- 
propriation Bill:  Speech  of  William  J.  Cary  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  April  13,  1908. 

*Congressional  Record.  42:  Appendix  292-9.  Postal  Tele- 
graph :  Speech  of  Samuel  W.  Smith  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, May  30,  1908. 

*Congressional    Record.    44:    Appendix    168-76.    Postal    Tele- 
graph:   Speech    of    Samuel    W.    Smith    in    the    House    of 
Representatives,  July   19,  1909. 
Reprinted  from  his  speech  delivered  May  26,  1906  and  printed  In 

the   Congressional    Record.    40:    7484-91.    May   26,    1906. 


*Forum.     4:561-72.      F.    '88.      Government   and    the   Telegraph. 

Shelby   M.   Cullom. 
*Gunton's.      20:305-22.      Ap.    '01.    Government    Ownership     of 

Quasi-Public   Corporations.     Edwin   R.   A.    Seligman. 
North    American.      149:44-53.      Jl.    '89.      Telegraph    Monopoly. 

Richard  T.  Ely. 
North    American.      179:741-7.      N.    '04.      Australian    Telegraph 

System.     Hugh   H.  Lusk. 

Outlook.     100:150*-!.    Ja.  27,  '12.     Postoffice  and  the  Telegraph. 
Popular    Science    Monthly.      19:400-3.      Jl.    '81.      Union    of    the 

Telegraph  and  Postal  Service. 
Review  of  Reviews.  27:  337-8.     Mr.  '03.     Government  Telegraph 

and    Telephone  in  Australia.     Hugh  H.  Lusk. 
Review  of  Reviews.     30:731-2.     D.  '04.     Government  Telegraph 

in  Australia. 

NEGATIVE  REFERENCES 

American  Journal  of  Sociology.  12 :328-4O.  N.  '06.  Public  Own- 
ership and  Popular  Government.  William  H.  Brown. 

*Arena.  15:245-9.  Ja.  '96.  Why  I  Oppose  Governmental  Con- 
trol of  the  Telegraph.  William  L.  Wilson. 

Municipal  Affairs.  1 :245-89.  Je.  '97.  No  Government  Should 
Operate  an  Industry.  Allen  R.  Foote. 

*North  American.  139:51-66.  Jl.  '84.  Government  Telegraphy. 
D.  McG.  Means. 

*North  American.  149:569-79.  N.  '89.  Are  Telegraph  Rates 
Too  High?  Norvin  Green. 

Political  Science  Quarterly.  3 :572-9i.  D.  '88.  Public  Business 
Management.  Arthur  T.  Hadley. 

United  States.  42nd  Congress.  2d  Session.  Senate  Mis.  Doc. 
No.  86.  Memorial  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany Remonstrating  Against  the  Passage  of  the  Bill  to 
Connect  the  Telegraph  with  the  Postal  Service,  and  to 
Reduce  the  Rates  of  Correspondence  by  Telegraph. 

United  States.  42d  Congress,  3d  Session.  House  Mis.  Doc. 
No.  73.  Postal  Telegraph :  Proceedings  of  the  Committee 
on  Appropriations  in  the  Matter  of  the  Postal  Telegraph. 
January  28,  1873. 


REPRINTS 

Annual  Report  of  the  Postmaster  General.  1911.  pp.  14-5. 

Postal  Telegraph  Service. 

The  telegraph  lines  in  the  United  States  should  be  made 
a  part  of  the  postal  system  and  operated  in  conjunction 
with  the  mail  service.  Such  a  consolidation  would  unques- 
tionably result  in  important  economies  and  permit  the  adop- 
tion of  lower  telegraph  rates.  Post  offices  are  maintained  in 
numerous  places  not  reached  by  the  telegraph  systems  and 
the  proposed  consolidation  would  therefore  afford  a  favorable 
opportunity  for  the  wide  extension  of  telegraph  facilities. 
In  many  small  towns  where  the  telegraph  companies  have 
offices  the  telegraph  and  mail  business  could  be  readily 
handled  by  the  same  employees.  The  separate  maintenance 
of  the  two  services  under  present  conditions  results  in  a 
needless  expense.  In  practically  all  the  European  countries, 
including  Great  Britain,  Germany,  France,  Russia,  Austria 
and  Italy,  the  telegraph  is  being  operated  under  government 
control  as  a  part  of  the  postal  system.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  first  telegraph  in  the  United  States  was  also  operated 
for  several  years,  from  1844  to  1847,  by  the  government 
under  authority  from  Congress,  and  there  seems  to  be  good 
ground  why  the  government  control  should  be  resumed.  A 
method  has  been  already  prescribed  for  taking  over  the  tele- 
graph lines  by  section  5267  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  which 
provides  that  the  government  may,  for  postal,  military  or 
other  purposes,  purchase  telegraph  lines  operating  in  the 
United  States  at  an  appraised  value.  It  is  hoped  that  ap- 
propriate legislation  will  be  enacted  in  harmony  with  this 
law  providing  for  the  taking  over  by  the  government  of 
the  existing  telegraph  systems  at  terms  that  shall  be  fair 
to  their  present  owners.  Every  reason  for  the  transmis- 
sion of  intelligence  by  mail  under  government  control  can 
be  urged  with  equal  force  for  a  similar  transmission  of 
telegraphic  communications.  Because  of  the  more  exten- 


sive  organization  maintained  by  the  postal  service  and  the 
freedom  from  taxation  and  other  charges  to  which  a  private 
corporation  is  subject  the  government  undoubtedly  will  be 
able  to  afford  greater  telegraphic  facilities  at  lower  rates  to 
the  people  than  the  companies  now  conducting  this  business. 


Forum.   4:   561-72.   February,   1888. 

Government  and   the   Telegraph.      Shelby    M.    Cullom. 

It  is  urged  that  the  government  has  no  right  to  inter- 
fere with,  or  to  carry  on,  a  private  business;  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  transmission  of  intelligence  is,  in  the 
strictest  sense,  a  public  service.  The  United  States  Supreme 
Court  has  declared  that 

"A  telegraph  company  occupies  the  same  relation  to  com- 
merce, as  a  carrier  of  messages,  that  a  railroad  company  does  as 
a  carrier  of  goods.  Both  companies  are  instruments  of  com- 
merce, and  their  business  is  commerce  itself.  They  do  their 
transportation  in  different  ways,  and  their  liabilities  are,  in  some 
respects,  different;  but  they  are  both  indispensable  to  those  en- 
gaged to  any  considerable  extent  in  commercial  pursuits." 

From  the  beginning,  the  telegraph  was  recognized  as  be- 
ing naturally  and  properly  an  adjunct  of  the  postal  service, 
and  the  action  of  Congress  in  the  construction  and  operation 
of  the  original  line  was  strictly  in  harmony  with  the  general 
idea  of  the  functions  of  the  Post-office  Department  which 
prevailed  when  the  government  was  organized. 

The  objection  most  seriously  urged  against  a  postal  tele- 
graph is,  that  its  establishment  would  place  too  much  power 
in  the  hands  of  the  political  party  in  control  of  the  gov- 
ernment, by  adding  enormously  to  the  already  large  patron- 
age of  the  Post-office  Department.  This  objection  has  not 
prevented  the  extension  of  the  postal  service  hitherto,  and 
will  not  in  the  future.  The  army  of  employees  in  the  postal 
service  is  increasing  constantly.  The  telegraph  is  properly 
a  branch  of  the  postal  service,  and  there  is  no  more  reason 
to  be  alarmed  at  the  increase  of  officials  from  the  addition 
of  a  new  branch  to  that  system  than  from  the  extension  of 
branches  now  in  operation.  Practically,  there  is  less  reason 
for  alarm  on  this  account  in  establishing  a  postal  telegraph 
than  in  extending  the  present  system.  It  requires  special 
training  and  fitness  for  the  work  to  be  a  telegraph  operator, 

8 


and  these  places  could  not  be  given  as  rewards  for  political 
service,  as  is  the  case  in  the  post-offices.  Besides,  as  was 
well  said  by  the  late  Postmaster-General  Howe: 

"The  increase  has  doubtless  been  exaggerated.  At  a  very  large 
percentage  of  the  offices  the  telegraph  operator  would  not  supple- 
ment the  postmaster,  but  would  supplant  him,  and  that  would 
result  in  giving  to  the  administration  of  not  a  few  offices  men 
who  have  learned  to  do  one  thing  in  place  of  those  who  have 
never  learned  to  do  anything." 

Congressional  Record.  44:  Appendix   168-76. 
Postal  Telegraph:  Speech  of  Samuel  W.  Smith,  July  19,  1909. 

The  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  has  repeatedly 
asserted  that  rates  is  a  matter  of  distance,  and  that  the 
distances  are  greater  here  than  in  England,  France,  Belgium, 
and  Switzerland,  and  tables  of  distances  and  charges  have 
been  presented  from  time  to  time  for  the  purpose  of  proving 
this  assertion,  but  I  will  be  glad  to  know  what  reply  they 
have  to  make  in  this  connection  when  rates,  distances,  and 
population  in  Australia  are  compared  with  rates,  distances, 
and  population  in  America. 

Through  the  kindness  of  the  publishers  of  the  North 
American  Review  I  am  permitted  to  use  an  article  on  "The 
Australian  Telegraph  System,"  by  Hugh  A.  Lusk,  barrister, 
which  appeared  in  that  popular  magazine  in  the  November 
number  of  1904: 

"The  telegraph  lines  now  owned  and  operated  by  the 
Federal  Government  for  the  people  of  Australia  have  a 
length  of  fully  48,000  miles,  while  the  length  of  the  wires  is 
considerably  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  miles.  For 
town  and  suburban  messages — suburban  meaning  practically 
a  radius  of  10  miles  beyond  the  city  limits — the  rate  fixed 
is  12  cents  for  a  message  not  exceeding  sixteen  words, 
which  includes  the  address  and  signature.  For  messages  to 
any  point  within  the  same  state  from  which  they  are  sent 
the  charge  is  fixed  at  18  cents  for  the  same  number  of  words. 
For  messages  to  any  other  state  within  the  Commonwealth 
the  charge  for  a  message  of  similar  length  is  24  cents.  In 
all  cases  the  charge  for  extra  words  beyond  the  sixteen  is 
a  uniform  rate  of  2  cents  a  word.  Delivery  is  made  within 
a  radius  of  i  mile  from  the  receiving  office,  and  for  this 
there  is  no  extra  charge. 


"In  the  newer,  poorer,  and  far  less  thickly  settled  country 
of  Australia  there  are  fully  6,000  post-offices  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  4,000,000  people,  or  I  to  every  666  people; 
and  more  than  3,000  of  these  are  also  telegraph  stations, 
being  I  to  about  1,300  persons.  If  every  second  post-office 
in  this  country  were  also  a  telegraph  station,  the  public 
would  be  nearly  as  well  supplied  with  the  means  of  rapid 
communication  as  the  settlers  in  Australia  now  are,  instead 
of  one-third  as  well,  and  they  would  also  be  saved  a  great 
deal  of  money.  In  America  it  would  then  be,  as  it  now  is 
in  the  commonwealth  of  the  South  Pacific;  each  telegraph 
station  would  be  at  the  natural  center  of  population,  where 
it  would  require  no  separate  offices  and  no  separate  staff  of 
clerks  and  operators,  except  in  cities  of  considerable  size. 
Every  country  postmaster  or  clerk  would  in  that  case  be 
required  also  to  be  a  competent  telegraph  operator,  and  thus 
an  endless  duplication,  both  of  offices  and  officials,  would  be 
avoided. 

"Three  years  ago  the  American  people  sent,  as  nearly  us 
possible,  one  message  over  the  telegraph  wires  for  each 
inhabitant.  In  Australia  population  is  more  widely  scattered 
than  in  America  and  vastly  more  so  than  in  England,  yet 
three  years  ago  two  and  a  half  messages  for  every  in- 
habitant of  the  country  passed  over  the  telegraph  wires  of 
the  government." 

The  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  was  incorporat- 
ed under  act  of  Wisconsin,  March  4,  1856,  and  act  of  New 
York,  April  4,  1856,  through  consolidation  of  "Erie  and 
Michigan"  and  "New  York  and  Mississippi  Valley  Printing 
Telegraph"  companies,  with  a  united  capital  of  $500,000. 

Its  present  capitalization  is  $97,370,000,  having  increased 
its  capitalization  almost  $97,000,000  in  fifty  years. 

The  National  Board  of  Trade  (by  report  of  executive 
committee  November  15,  1882)  says:  "In  1858  the  Western 
Union  had  a  capital  of  $385,700.  Eight  years  later  the  stock 
had  expanded  to  $22,000,000,  of  which  $3,322,000  was  issued  in 
purchase  of  competing  lines,  while  nearly  $18,000,000  was  is- 
sued as  stock  dividends.  This  was  the  first  attempt  to 
spread  out  an  increased  paper  capital  which  should  hereafter 
afford  a  plausible  pretext  for  imposing  on  the  public  an  op- 
pressive tariff  of  charges.  The  next  step  was  the  purchase  of 

10 


the  United  States  Telegraph  Company,  for  which  purpose 
$7,216,300  of  stock  was  issued,  an  amount  alleged  to  be  five 
times  the  true  value  of  the  property.  Next  came  the  ab- 
sorption of  the  American  Telegraph  Company.  The  stock 
of  that  company  was  almost  as  much  inflated  as  that  of  the 
Western  Union  and  amounted,  water  and  all,  to  $3,833,100, 
yet  $11,833,100  of  Western  Union  stock  was  issued  to  get 
possession  of  that  line." 

The  following  statement  of  Western  Union  transactions 
will  give  a  good  idea  of  their  methods: 

Table     1. 

Original    investment     $    150,000 

Original    capital    (1852)    240,000 

Capital    stock    (1858)     385,700 

Brownsville  line,  worth  $75,000,  bought  by  issuing  stock  2,000,000 

1863,   Western  Union  plant,   worth   $500,000,   stock    3,000,000 

Stock   dividends    (1863)    3,000,000 

Total    stock    (1863)     6,000,000 

Stock  to  buy  other  lines   3,322,000 

Stock     dividends     1,678,000 

Total    (1864)     11,000,000 

Stock     dividends     11,000,000 

Total  (January,  1866)  22,000,000 

Stock  to  buy  United  States  Telegraph  Company,  worth 

$1,443,000  7,216,300 

Stock  for  American  Telegraph  Company,  worth  perhaps 

$1,500,000      11,833,100 

Total     (1866) 41,049,400 

Stock    dividends    5,060,000 

Stock  for  American  Union  and  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
companies  (worth,  together,  about  $3,232,000.  aside 
from  the  franchises),  over  $23,000,000,  but  as  Western 
Union  already  owned  over  $4,000,000  of  Atlantic  and 

Pacific   the   new  issue  was   only 19,080,000 

Stock     dividends 15,000,000 

Total    (1884)     80,000,000 

Stock  for  Mutual  Union,  worth  about  $3,000,000 15,000,000 

Total    stock    (1895)     95,000,000 

Zachariah  Chandler,  from  the  Committee  on  Commerce, 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  1872,  said: 

"The  policy  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  from 
the  beginning  of  its  existence  to  the  present  time  has  been  of  a 
uniform  character. 

"It  has  been  to  ridicule,  belittle,  cripple,  destroy,  acquire,  con- 
solidate, and  absorb  all  rival  lines,  until  now  it  virtually  controls 
the  telegraph  business  of  the  whole  country.  The  statements  made 
in  the  report  containing  the  history  of  this  company,  its  unparal- 
leled growth,  and  future  possibilities  are  eloquent  with  meaning 
~beyond  that  expressed  in  the  words.  With  its  network  of  wires 
•covering  the  face  of  the  land  it  holds  the  incalculable  commercial 

II 


interests  of   the   people  of  this  nation  in   its  grasp   as   securely  as 
the  spider  holds  the  struggling  prey  in  the  meshes  of  its  web." 

The  Postal  Telegraph  and  Cable  Company  is  only  a  side 
show — and  I  say  it  respectfully — to  the  main  performance, 
to  wit,  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  for  in  the 
main,  where  they  have  offices  in  the  same  locality,  rates  are 
identical. 

A  comparison  of  rates  from  Washington  to  points  all 
over  this  broad  Union  shows  but  few  slight,  if  any,  differ- 
ences in  the  rates  charged  by  these  two  companies,  leading 
one  to  believe  and  understand  that  this  is  not  purely  acci- 
dental, but  that  there  must  be  some  common  understanding 
between  these  two  great  corporations,  and  if  these  condi- 
tions exist  elsewhere,  as  they  doubtless  do,  you  will  at  once 
see  that  we  are  not  enjoying  any  advantages  by  reason  of 
competition,  but  we  are  led  to  the  certain  conclusion  that 
these  two  great  corporations  are  in  collusion  for  the  purpose 
of  extracting  from  the  people  every  dollar  which  they  pos- 
sibly can  in  order  to  add  to  their  dividends. 

The  Western  Union  and  the  Postal  Telegraph  will  be 
found  to  be  the  only  visible  opponents  in  this  effort  to  se- 
cure for  the  people  their  just  rights. 

It  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  the  present  telegraph  com- 
panies are  honeycombed  with  rust  and  inefficiency,  loaded 
with  immense  amounts  of  watered  stock,  and  -hampered  by 
the  most  stupid  exhibitions  of  nonprogressiveness  to  be 
seen  in  this  enlightened  age.  It  is  literally  true  that  in  this 
electrical  age,  in  this  electrical  country,  telegraphy  is  the 
only  thing  touched  by  electricity  that  is  still  in  the  ox-cart 
condition. 

"Telegraphy  is  still  pounding  along  with  hand  labor, 
very  much  as  Morse  devised  it  nearly  seventy-five  years 
ago.  It  can  never  be  cheap  or  fast  until  machinery  is  used 
to  prepare  the  messages  and  to  hurl  them  at  higher  speed 
over  the  wires." 

I  have  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that,  notwithstanding  for 
many  years  over  the  doors  of  the  telegraph  companies  has 
been  written  the  legend,  "No  inventors  or  scientific  men 
wanted,"  inventive  genius  has  perfected,  tried,  and  approved 
machines  for  telegraphing,  which,  if  put  into  use,  would 
revolutionize  present  conditions,  and  the  fact  that  these 

12 


modern  inventions  are  not  utilized  by  the  telegraph  com- 
panies is  evidence  to  me  that  if  they  were  used  it  would 
be  apparent  to  all  that  telegraphy  could  be  greatly  cheap- 
ened. 

• 

Congressional  Record.  42:  Appendix  292-9. 
Postal  Telegraph:  Speech  of  Samuel  W.  Smith,  May  30,  1908. 

The  telegraph  service  of  the  United  States  is  the  poorest, 
slowest,  and  most  expensive  of  any  commercial  nation.  It 
is  likewise  the  only  great  telegraph  system  under  private 
control.  If  it  were  necessary  the  direct  relation  between 
these  facts  could  be  convincingly  shown.  The  average 
charge  per  message  in  this  country,  31  cents,  is  "three  times 
the  average  rate  in  all  other  countries  under  post-office 
telegraph  service." 

In  other  countries  the  excessive  and  restrictive  charges 
of  private  telegraph  corporations  and  the  right  of  the  people 
to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  electrical  communication  at  cheap 
rates  has  been  recognized  by  statesmen,  and  governments 
have  purchased  private  lines  and  extended  the  service.  Sir 
W.  H.  Preece,  for  many  years  engineer  in  chief  of  the  Brit- 
ish telegraph  service,  says:  "Telegraphy  became  *  *  *  so 
closely  allied  with  other  modes  of  communication  that  pub- 
lic opinion  in  1868-69  forced  the  government  to  purchase  and 
absorb  all  the  telegraph  companies."  The  rates  were  im- 
mediately reduced  one-half,  and — note  this  equally  impor- 
tant fact — the  time  of  transmission  of  messages  between 
cities  in  England  has  been  reduced  from  two  to  three  hours 
in  1870,  when  the  government  took  control,  to  seven  to  nine 
minutes. 

We  need  not  discuss  the  annual  British  deficit — a  deficit, 
by  the  way,  which  has  saved  the  British  public  more  than 
$150,000,000  since  it  began  to  accumulate — but  Vice-Presi- 
dent Clark  of  the  Western  Union  testified  that,  in  his 
opinion,  "It  was  the  policy  of  extending  the  telegraph  to 
unprofitable  places  that  caused  the  deficiency."  This  exten- 
sion for  the  benefit  of  the  people  is  precisely  what  govern- 
ment can  do  in  response  to  demands,  and  what  private  own- 
ership will  not  do. 

13 


To  argue  that  government  can  not  conduct  business  as 
well  or  as  cheaply  as  private  corporations  managed  for 
profit,  is  contrary  to  experience.  If  the  people  want  a  gov- 
ernment telegraph  they  will  take  measures  to  have  it  well 
conducted,  and  opponents  of  the  jdea  need  not  cherish  so 
many  misgivings  on  the  political  side.  Authoritative  con- 
firmation of  the  conviction  thus  expressed  has  since  been 
given  by  Sir  William  Preece.  He  says:  "The  telegraph  bus- 
iness of  this  country  (Great  Britain)  has  reached  its  present 
dimensions  because  the  work  has  been  done  well,  and  it  has 
been  done  well  because  the  mode  of  doing  business  has  been 
so  well  and  so  thoroughly  supervised  by  the  public. 

"It  is  amusing  after  this  length  of  time  to  read  the  argu- 
ments that  were  adduced  against  the  absorption  of  the 
telegraphs  by  the  state.  The  objections  raised  were: 

1.  It  was  not  the  Government's  business  to  telegraph. 

2.  There  would  be  a  loss  if  it  did. 

3.  The  telegraph   would  be  better  conducted  under  pri- 
vate enterprise. 

4.  The  Government  rates  would  be  higher. 

5.  The   use   of  the  telegraph   would   decrease. 

6.  The    Government    service    would    be    nonprogressive, 
with   no  stimulus    to  invention,   etc. 

7.  The  secrecy  of  messages  would  be  violated. 

8.  The  telegraph  would  be  used  as   a  party  machine. 

9.  The  Government  could  not  be  sued. 

10.  To  establish  a  public  telegraph  would  be  an  arbitrary 
and  unjust  interference  with  private  interests.  The  com- 
panies had  risked  their  capital  in  the  new  enterprise,  and 
just  as  they  were  about  to  get  their  reward  the  Government 
was  going  to  take  the  business  away  from  them.  Private 
enterprise  experimented  and  the  people  wanted  to  steal  the 
fruit 

"Every  reason  has  been  proved  wrong,  every  prophecy  has 
remained  unfulfilled.  I  can  say  this  with  good  grace,  for  I 
was  one  of  the  prophets.  The  advantages  of  a  state-con- 
trolled telegraph  system  have  been  amply  shown.  There 
has  been  established  a  cheaper,  more  widely  extended,  and 
more  expeditious  system  of  telegraphy;  the  wires  have  been 
erected  in  districts  that  private  companies  could  not  reach; 
the  cost  of  telegrams  has  been  reduced  not  only  in  their 


transmission,  but  in  their  delivery;  the  number  of  offices 
opened  has  been  quadrupled;  a  provincial  and  an  evening 
press  has  been  virtually  created." 

The  average  rate  for  telegrams  in  this  country  has  ad- 
vanced from  31  cents  in  1902  to  33.7  cents  in  1907.  Proof 
that  the  charges  are  too  high  is  shown  by  the  relatively 
small  proportion  of  the  people  who  use  the  telegraph.  Pres- 
ident Green  stated  that  the  proportion  of  social  messages 
in  this  country  was  about  8  per  cent.  In  England  the  pro- 
portion is  ten  times  as  large,  and  on  the  Continent  social 
messages  constitute  two-thirds  the  entire  business.  It  is 
thus  evident  that  there  is  in  this  country  an  immense  volume 
of  telegraphic  business  that  has  not  been  developed  and 
which  awaits  only  adequate  rate  reductions  to  come  forth. 

The  effect  of  changes  in  rates  in  different  countries  is 
well  shown  by  the  following  quotations,  taken  from  good 
sources: 

Great  Britain.  A  reduction  of  33  per  cent  on  three- 
tenths  of  the  messages  and  50  per  cent  on  the  remainder 
caused  an  increase  of  100  per  cent  in  about  two  years. 

The  social  business  is  said  to  be  four  times  as  large 
as  in  this  country — eight  times  as  large  in  proportion  to  pop- 
ulation. 

Canada.  A  reduction  which  applied  to  less  than  10  per 
cent  of  the  business  augmented  it  25  per  cent  in  the  first  year. 

Belgium.  These  reductions  have  caused  four  times  the 
number  of  dispatches  that  would  have  been  sent  at  the  old 
rates. 

Switzerland  and  Belgium.  A  reduction  of  one-half  in  the 
rates  produced  a  double  business  in  one  year. 

Australia.  Australians  send  more  than  twice  as  many 
messages  over  the  lines  at  the  lower  rates  as  Americans 
do  at  the  present  prices. 

Prussia.  A  reduction  of  33  per  cent  in  the  rate  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  increase,  in  the  very  first  month  after  the  change, 
of  70  per  cent  in  messages. 

Switzerland.  The  Swiss  inland  rate  was  reduced  50  per 
cent  *  *  *  and  in  the  first  three  months  there  was  an 
increase  of  90  per  cent  in  messages. 

If  the  statistics  possess  any  significance  whatever,  they 
reveal  immense  possibilities  in  telegraph  development  in  this 


country  through  cheapening  the  tolls.  People  can  not  afford 
to  use  the  telegraph  freely  when  they  must  pay  from  25 
cents  upward  for  ten  words.  The  minimum  charge  possible 
with  improved  methods  and  profitable  returns  to  an  operat- 
ing private  company  is  lower  than  the  world  has  yet  ex- 
perienced, and  would  lead  to  a  volume  of  correspondence 
by  wire  impossible  to  estimate  from  any  known  data.  At 
the  same  rates  a  Government  system  would  pay  for  itself 
in  a  few  years. 

President  Green  stated  that  46  per  cent  of  the  Western 
Union  business  was  brokerage  and  exchange,  the  kind  known 
as  speculative;  i2  per  cent  was  press  business,  34  per  cent 
legitimate  trade  or  general  commercial  business,  and  only  8 
per  cent  social.  Thus  it  appears  that  the  companies  are  not 
serving  the  public  generally,  but  only  a  small  part  of  the 
public  that  can  afford  to  pay  the  high  tolls  because  of  the 
nature  of  the  business  done  or  the  absolute  necessity  to 
use  the  telegraph. 

Referring  to  the  statement  of  President  Green  that  40 
per  cent  of  the  business  of  his  company  was  stockjobbing 
and  speculative  deals  in  futures,  it  ought  to  be  considered 
that  this  kind  of  business  is  the  kind  that  the  Western 
Union  has  specially  fostered,  even  to  the  extent  of  subor- 
dinating to  it  the  regular  commercial  business.  It  is  the  only 
business  that  is  done  with  telegraphic  promptness,  and 
presumably  it  is  the  most  profitable. 

Arena.   16:  70-84.  June,   1896. 
Telegraph  Monopoly.   Frank  Parsons. 

The  ninth  evil  of  our  telegraphic  system  is  discrimina- 
tion. Sometimes  the  discrimination  takes  the  form  of  re- 
fusing to  render  certain  services  to  certain  persons.  Some- 
times the  company  refuses  to  receive  any  messages  at  all 
from  certain  persons  or  for  certain  persons,  or  declines  to 
allow  certain  messages  to  go  over  its  wires.  At  other  times 
the  discrimination  consists  in  delay,  confinement  of  market 
reports  or  other  news  to  a  few  favored  individuals  for  an 
hour  or  two,  transmission  by  devious  routes,  violations  of 
the  due  order  of  transmission,  unjust  distinctions  as  to  rates, 

16 


giving  rebates  to  favored  individuals,  persecuting  others  to 
compel  their  submission  to  the  telegraph  managers  or  to 
punish  them  for  a  personal  difference. 

The  Washburn  committee  reported  that  "rules  of  prec- 
edence in  the  transmission  of  messages  are  systematically 
disregarded  by  the  leading  American  company". 

"Stock  exchange  business  has  the  right  of  way  over  the 
wires  in  preference  to  any  communication  of  a  personal  or 
social  nature". 

The  directors  and  managers  of  the  Western  Union  are 
stock  speculators  and  they  favor  their  own  class. 

By  means  of  discrimination  in  rates  or  service  or  both, 
the  telegraph  company  can  turn  the  tide  of  business  and 
prosperity  toward  a  locality  or  an  individual,  or  it  can  hinder 
the  growth  of  a  city  and  ruin  a  tradesman  or  a  newspaper 
by  excessive  rates  or  delaying  messages,  governing  persons 
and  places  somewhat  as  a  railway  does  by  means  of  freight 
and  passenger  rates,  the  supply  or  non-supply  of  cars,  and 
the  quickness  or  delay  of  transportation. 

This  brings  us  to  the  tenth  evil  of  our  present  system  of 
distributing  intelligence,  viz.,  the  infringement  of  the  liberty 
of  the  press.  The  Western  Union  and  a  number  of  leading 
newspapers  have  formed  a  sort  of  double-star  monopoly 
for  mutual  advantage  and  protection  against  competition. 
The  understanding  between  the  telegraph  company  and  the 
press  associations  secures  to  the  latter  low  rates  and  the 
power  of  excluding  new  papers  from  the  field,  and  to  the 
former  a  strong  influence  upon  press  dispatches,  the  sup- 
port of  the  papers  in  such  associations,  and  the  exclusive 
right  to  transmit  and  sell  the  market  quotations.  Besides 
the  force  of  direct  agreement  and  the  powerful  motives  of 
mutual  support  that  naturally  develop  between  two  individu- 
als or  corporations  working  together  year  after  year  with 
an  ever-present  consciousness  in  each  of  the  vital  relation 
to  its  prosperity  that  is  sustained  by  the  other, — besides 
all  this,  the  men  who  run  the  Western  Union  control  a 
number  of  papers  directly,  and  can  control  others  whenever 
it  may  be  thought  best.  The  Western  Union  not  only 
has  the  power  of  causing  serious  loss  to  newspapers  that 
oppose  it, — it  has  millions  with  which  to  buy  the  stock  of  an 
obnoxious  paper,  so  capturing  the  fortress  entire  and  spik- 
ing the  guns  or  turning  them  against  its  enemies. 

17 


United    States.      Industrial    Commission    Reports.      9:    190-1. 

Telegraph    System.    Frank    Parsons. 

The  treatment  of  labor  by  our  telegraph  system  is,  I 
think,  one  of  the  most  objectionable  features  of  the  manage- 
ment. According  to  the  testimony  of  telegraph  employees 
in  various  investigations  and  congressional  hearings,  a  sys- 
tematic policy  of  reducing  wages  has  been  pursued  by  the 
telegraph  monopoly.  They  have  put  boys  to  work  in  the 
offices  to  learn  the  business,  and  then  if  the  operator  re- 
signed or  moved  away  or  did  not  prove  satisfactory,  or  if 
for  any  other  reason  his  office  became  vacant,  they  would 
offer  the  place  to  this  young  student  or  apprentice  at  $5  or 
$10  less  than  the  salary  formerly  paid;  and  in  that  way  and 
in  other  ways  they  have  reduced  the  wage  so  that,  according 
to  the  testimony,  it  was  reduced  40%  from  1870-1883. 

The  great  strike  of  1883  throughout  our  telegraph  system 
was  largely  due  to  the  low  wages  and  long  hours.  They 
asked  for  an  increase  of  pay  of  15  per  cent  and  for  8-hour 
work,  and  no  salary  lower  than  $50.  These  requests,  mod- 
erate as  they  were,  were  refused,  and  the  great  strike  was 
fought  out  at  a  cost  altogether  of  over  $1,000,000,  and  after 
the  strike,  according  to  Western  Union  testimony,  the  result 
was  that  the  company  was  able  to  get  about  one-third  more 
work  out  of  the  men  for  the  same  pay.  The  hours  of  opera- 
tors are  in  many  cases  very  long,  the  work  is  very  trying, 
and  they  are  apt  to  be  affected  by  consumption  and  other 
diseases — unable  to  continue  many  years  under  the  strain. 

They  also  blacklist  their  employees,  I  understand  from 
the  workers,  so  that  the  man  who  meets  with  their  disap- 
proval is  practically  unable  to  get  employment  in  the  coun- 
try. They  try  to  shut  out  the  unions  of  the  men,  and  they 
even  deny  them  the  privilege  of  petition.  The  men  say  that 
the  leaders  in  presenting  a  joint  request  for  the  amelioration 
of  conditions  if  found  out,  are  almost  sure  to  be  discharged 
from  employment. 

The  company  [Western  Union]  goes  into  politics  to  a 
certain  extent.  It  has  distributed  favors  among  various 
legislators  and  among  Congressmen,  and  Western  Union 
testimony  is  explicit  as  to  the  benefits  they  have  received. 
Long  ago  the  president  of  the  Western  Union  said: 

18 


"The  franks  issued  to  government  officials  constitute 
nearly  a  third  of  the  total  complimentary  business.  The 
wires  of  the  Western  Union  Company  extend  into  37  states 
and  9  territories  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  and 
into  4  of  the  British  provinces.  In  all  of  them  our  property 
is  more  or  less  subject  to  the  action  of  the  national,  state, 
and  municipal  authorities,  and  the  judicious  use  of  compli- 
mentary franks  among  them  has  been  the  means  of  saving  to 
the  company  many  times  the  money  value  of  the  free  service 
performed." 

Gimton's.  20:  305-22.  April,  1901. 

Government  Ownership   of  Quasi-Public   Corporations.     Ed- 
win R.  A.  Seligman. 

When  we  come  to  the  telegraph,  what  has  been  said  of 
the  post-office  applies  in  the  main  also  to  the  telegraph  serv- 
ice. Unfortunately,  in  this  country  the  telegraph  service  is  not 
used  by  everyone.  The  charges  are  apparently  so  high  and  the 
conditions  are  such  that  the  telegraph  is  used  chiefly  for 
business  purposes,  and  only  to  a  very  slight  extent  for  social 
purposes.  In  other  countries,  where  the  telegraph  is  an  ad- 
junct to  the  postal  system,  and  where  the  rates  are  lower 
and  the  facilities  greater,  the  people  use  it,  as  everyone 
knows,  to  a  far  greater  extent  in  proportion  to  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  people,  than  we  do.  Therefore,  from  the  point 
of  view  of  possible  widespread  social  interest,  the  telegraph 
service  ought  to  be  put  on  a  par  with  the  postal  service.  In 
the  United  States  postal  charges  are  lower  and  telegraph 
charges  are  higher  than  abroad.  Secondly,  as  regards  the 
capital  invested,  while  in  the  case  of  the  telegraph  the  neces- 
sity for  the  application  of  capital  is  somewhat  greater  than  in 
the  case  of  the  post,  it  is  slight  as  compared  with  other  in- 
terests. All  that  is  necessary  is  to  procure  enough  capital 
to  put  up  poles  and  to  string  the  wires,  and  possibly  also  to 
secure  certain  rights  of  way.  If  the  government  were  to 
attempt  to  buy  out  the  telegraph  lines  there  would  there- 
fore be  a  capital  outlay,  but  still  an  insignificant  one  as  com- 
pared with  that  invested  in  ordinary  enterprises  for  other 
means  of  transportation.  Finally,  in  the  case  of  the  tele- 

19 


graph,  the  complexity  of  management  would  also  be  a  slight 
factor.  Naturally  there  will  be  from  time  to  time  new  in- 
ventions in  telegraph  apparatus.  The  experience,  however, 
of  even  such  sleepy  administrations  as  those  of  France  and 
England  shows  that  the  telegraph  service  does  contrive  to 
keep  on  a  level  with  the  new  inventions.  And  while  the 
telegraph  operators  may  in  some  respects  be  compared  to 
the  postal  clerks,  the  government  telegraph  generally  man- 
ages to  secure  a  high  level  of  efficiency  in  its  officials. 

Congressional  Record.  42:  4688-90.  April  13,  1908. 

Naval    Appropriation    Bill:    Speech   by   William   J.    Gary, 
April   13,  1908. 

Now,  let  us  turn  to  some  of  the  other  advantages  of  a 
Government  telegraph.  In  the  mere  matter  of  office  rental 
there  would  be  a  saving  of  perhaps  a  million  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  inasmuch  as  the  telegraph,  being 
a  part  of  the  postal  system,  would  be  operated  from  the 
Federal  buildings  in  which  the  post-offices  are  located.  The 
greatest  advantage,  however,  would  be  its  freedom  from 
bonded  indebtedness  and  stock  issues  upon  which  the  tele- 
graph companies  now  pay  dividends.  Take,  for  example, 
the  Western  Union,  which  pays  a  5  per  cent  dividend  upon 
one  hundred  millions  of  stocks  and  4l/2  per  cent  upon  thirty- 
eight  millions  of  bonds.  It  must  earn  for  this  purpose 
nearly  $7,000,000  a  year  in  excess  of  its  sinking-fund  require- 
ments. 

But  this  is  not  all.  If  it  be  estimated  that  the  Western 
Union  is  paying  an  office  rental  of  $1,500,000  a  year  in  ex- 
cess of  what  the  Government  would  pay,  it  will  be  seen 
that  a  Government-controlled  telegraph  would  save  at  least 
$8,000,000  a  year  that  the  Western  Union  Company  must 
now  earn  over  and  above  operating  expenses  and  cost,  also 
of  maintenance  and  repair.  And  this  vast  sum,  which  is  a 
practical  tax  upon  the  people,  would  be  saved  to  them.  To 
this  sum  also  should  be  added  the  annual  tax  upon  all  their 
properties  imposed  by  many  of  the  states,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  cost  of  light  and  heat  in  their  vast  chain  of  offices, 
from  Maine  to  California  and  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the 

20 


Gulf,  from  all  of  which  the  Government  would  be  exempt. 
In  these  circumstances  the  Government  could  reduce  the  tel- 
egraph tolls  at  least  one-half  between  all  points  and  pay  its 
employees  20  if  not  30  per  cent  in  excess  of  what  they  are 
now  receiving,  and  give  at  the  same  time  a  greatly  improved 
service. 


Harper's  Weekly.  55:  22.  December  9,  1911. 

Industrial     Securities:     Telephone     and     Telegraph     Group. 
Franklin   Escher. 

In  the  industrial  progress  of  the  country  during  the  past 
ten  years,  there  is  to  be  found  nothing  more  striking  than 
the  growth  of  the  telephone  and  telegraph  business.  A 
glance  at  the  situation  as  it  stands  today  shows  three  main 
companies  in  the  field.  In  the  first  place  there  is  the  West- 
ern Union  incorporated  sixty  years  ago,  and  controlling  by 
stock-ownership  or  lease  a  large  number  of  telegraph  com- 
panies all  over  the  United  States.  In  the  second  place  there 
is  the  Mackay  Companies,  a  concern  organized  eight  years 
ago  to  act  as  a  holding  company  for  the  stocks  of  the 
Postal  Telegraph  and  the  Commercial  Cable  companies. 
Thirdly,  there  is  the  American  Telephone-Telegraph  Com- 
pany, the  outstanding  share  capital  of  which  is  over  a  quarter 
of  a  billion  dollars  and  which  holds  stocks  in  companies 
scattered  all  over  the  country  amounting  to  $356,000,000. 
Besides  these,  there  are,  of  course,  a  large  number  of  in- 
dependents, but  by  the  "telephone  and  telegraph  group"  the 
security  market  understands  these  three  great  combinations 
which  have  been  mentioned. 

As  for  the  relation  of  these  companies  one  to  the  other, 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  controls  Western  Union, 
and  Western  Union  and  the  Mackay  companies  are  competi- 
tors. Two  years  ago,  when  American  Telephone  acquired 
a  controlling  interest  in  Western  Union,  the  Mackay  com- 
panies sold  out  their  holdings  of  American  Telephone. 
Since  that  time  it  has  been  a  contiuous  fight  for  business 
between  Western  Union  and  the  Mackay  companies,  or,  as 
the  public  better  knows  the  latter  combine,  the  Postal 
Telegraph  and  the  Commercial  companies. 

21 


With  business  conditions  as  they  are,  earnings  are  holding 
up  remarkably  well,  and  all  the  time  there  is  developing  a 
strong  tendency  on  the  part  of  business  men  to  make  freer 
use  of  "wire"  facilities.  By  the  introduction  of  the  "night- 
letter"  and  the  "day-letter,"  and  the  hooking  up  of  every 
Bell  Telephone  with  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  system, 
it  has  been  brought  about  that  long-range  business,  to  a 
greater  extent  than  ever  before,  is  being  done  by  telegraph 
and  telephone  instead  of  by  mail. 


Arena.  15:  245-9.  January,   1896. 

Why    I    Oppose    Governmental    Control    of    the    Telegraph. 
William    L.   Wilson. 

The  question  of  governmental  control  of  the  telegraph 
as  a  part  of  the  postal  system  has  been  under  discussion 
for  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  and  more,  and  possesses 
an  attractiveness  that  will  always  keep  it  in  some  form 
before  the  public  mind.  More  than  one  president  and  suc- 
cessive postmasters-general  have  felt  called  upon  to  con- 
sider the  question  and  to  express  opinions  on  one  or  the 
other  side.  Much  instructive  material  is  consequently  stored 
away  in  their  messages  and  reports,  especially  in  the  hear- 
ings before  congressional  committees  charged  with  the  con- 
sideration of  proposed  legislative  measures.  Two  post- 
masters-general, Mr.  Creswell  in  1873  and  Mr.  Wanamaker 
in  1890,  each  with  a  different  scheme,  have  made  vigorous 
efforts  to  secure  action  from  Congress.  A  .review  of  this 
long  agitation  in  the  light  of  these  public  documents  indi- 
cates that,  in  the  country  at  large,  it  reached  its  highest 
stage  during  and  just  after  the  great  telegraphic  strike  of 
1883,  when  the  New  York  Herald  and  other  influential  jour- 
nals took  it  up  and  urged  it  with  force  and  persistence. 

Up  to  that  time  propositions  for  a  postal  telegraph  had 
contemplated,  as  a  rule,  either  the  acquisition  of  existing 
lines  by  purchase,  or  the  construction  of  a  government 
system.  Such  action  was  beset  with  so  many  difficulties, 
as  well  of  policy  as  of  business  detail,  that  it  naturally  found 
but  occasional  and  spasmodic  advocacy  in  Congress,  from 
men  whose  opinions  were  influential  there  or  in  the  country. 

22 


Mr.  Wanamaker  sought  to  avoid  the  main  objections  by 
proposing  a  "limited  post  and  telegraph,"  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  bureau  in  the  postoffice  department  for  the  deposit, 
transmission,  and  delivery  of  telegrams  through  the  medium 
of  the  existing  postoffice  service. 

Many  saw  in  this  proposal  but  an  entering  wedge  to  a 
complete  purchase  or  administration  of  the  telegraphic  ser- 
vice by  the  government,  and  for  that  reason  stoutly  opposed 
the  first  steps.  Fully  recognizing  that  both  the  telegraph 
and  the  telephone  have  become,  more  and  more,  a  part  of 
the  equipment  of  our  modern  industrial  and  social  life,  they 
cling  to  the  vital  idea  of  our  federal  polity  as  a  guardian  of 
liberty  and  a  guarantor  of  justice,  and  wish  to  limit  its 
operations  to  these  ends  and  to  those  activities  which  are 
really  governmental.  To  paternalize  the  government  or 
make  it  more  bureaucratic  is  in  their  judgment  to  repress 
private  enterprise  and  to  imitate  the  monarchical  systems 
of  the  old  world. 

Here  the  cost  of  any  business  enterprise  carried  on  by 
the  government  is  greater  than  it  would  be  in  private  hands. 
The  postoffice  department  is  no  exception  to  this  rtHe,  al- 
though much  of  its  work  is  done  through  contracts  with 
private  persons.  The  ninety  millions  now  expended,  won- 
derful and  grand  as  are  its  results,  would  produce  better 
results  if  the  service  could  be  organized  and  everywhere 
administered  as  our  most  successful  railroad  corporations 
manage  their  affairs. 

Nothing  is  more  certain,  were  the  government  to  under- 
take the  control  or  monopoly  of  the  telegraph,  than  that 
we  should  have,  at  any  rates  ef  service  the  people  would 
expect,  a  heavy  annual  deficit,  to  swell  the  regular  deficit 
of  the  postoffice  department. 

There  is  to-day  immense  room  for  the  increase  and  per- 
fection of  our  postal  facilities,  but,  policy  aside,  there  is 
no  room  for  the  assumption  by  the  treasury  of  vast  un- 
known liabilities  and  of  a  service  to  be  administered  at  a 
yearly  loss.  Reviewing  the  controversies  of  the  past  thirty 
years,  and  acknowledging  as  I  do  the  merits  and  attractions 
of  Mr.  Wanamaker's  scheme,  I  find  myself  in  accord  with 
the  conclusion  reached  in  1883,  by  Judge  Gresham,  especially 
as  that  conclusion  had  been  more  comprehensively  stated 

23 


by  Postmaster-General  Denison  years  before,  in  a  report 
to  the  Senate:  "As  a  result  of  my  investigation  under  the 
resolution  of  the  Senate,  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  will  not 
be  wise  for  the  government  to  inaugurate  the  proposed  sys- 
tem of  telegraph  as  a  part  of  the  postal  service,  not  only 
because  of  its  doubtful  financial  success,  but  also  its  question- 
able feasibility  under  our  political  system." 

North  American.  139:   51-66.  July,   1884. 
Government  Telegraphy.  D.  McG.   Means. 

The  proposal  that  the  Government  should  add  the  busi- 
ness of  telegraphing  to  that  'of  carrying  the  mails,  is  listened 
to  with  a  great  deal  of  favor.  It  is  highly  probable  that  if 
the  proposal  were  submitted,  to  a  popular  vote  it  would  be 
adopted  by  an  immense  majority.  Most  people  do  not  stop 
to  consider  either  the  details  or  the  consequences  of  such 
a  change.  They  are  very  generally  prejudiced  against  the 
.great  corporation  that  controls  the  telegraphs  of  the  country 
— with  how  much  reason  we  need  not  now  consider — and 
they  believe  that  the  Government  would  do  the  business 
cheaper  and  better  than  it  is  now  done.  If  they  were  asked 
for  reasons  for  this  belief,  they  would  say:  The  Govern- 
ment has  succeeded  very  well  with  the  Post-office,  and  it 
would  therefore  succeed  with  the  telegraph  if  it  were  to 
undertake  it. 

There  are  two  assumptions  involved  in  this  reasoning: 
one,  that  the  Government  is  successful  in  the  management 
of  the  Post-office;  the  other,  that  the  business  of  sending 
telegrams  is  so  much  like  that  of  sending  the  mails  that. the 
•Government  can  do  the  former  as  well  as  the  latter.  Neither 
of  these  propositions  is  so  self-evident  as  to  be  admitted 
without  argument.  The  Star-route  trials  showed  that  a 
great  deal  of  corruption  may  exist  in  the  Post-office  for  a 
long  time  before  it  is  discovered;  and  a  very  little  reflection 
will  suggest  many  differences  between  the  transmission  of 
letters  and  telegrams. 

Although  our  Post-office  is  not  in  so  bad  a  state  as 
that  of  England  forty  years  ago,  it  is  certainly  not  desir- 
able to  add  to  its  burdens  until  it  is  reformed.  To  place 

24 


the  telegraph  in  charge  of  the  Government  can  be  justified 
only  upon  the  ground  that  it  will  be  likely  to  manage  it 
better  than  it  does  the  post,  or  else  that  the  general  inter- 
est imperatively  requires  the  change  to  be  made.  We 
shall  briefly  state  some  reasons  for  supposing  that  the  Gov- 
ernment will  be  very  much  less  successful  with  the  tele- 
graph than  with  the  post,  and  for  holding  that  public  interest 
will  be  prejudiced  by  the  change. 

Whenever  the  operations  of  Government  require  the  ex- 
penditure of  capital  in  permanent  works,  there  is  always  a 
terrible  waste.  The  Post-office  requires  very  little  expendi- 
ture of  this  kind;  but  with  the  telegraph  the  case  is  far 
otherwise.  It  is  not  easy  to  tell  what  amount  of  capital 
has  been  really  invested  in  the  business,  but  it  can  hardly 
be  less  than  $50,000,000,  and  it  may  be  double  that  sum. 
A  very  large  part  of  this  is  invested,  and  must  continue  to 
be  invested,  in  patents,  a  class  of  property  which  it  would 
be  particularly  undesirable  to  have  the  officers  of  Govern- 
ment concerned  in.  The  art  of  telegraphy  is  highly  pro- 
gressive, and  to  introduce  the  routine  which  is  the  only 
safety  of  Government,  would  be  fatal  to  its  further  progress. 
It  is  not  easy  to  see  how  the  Government  could  begin  its 
operations  without  either  confiscating  or  purchasing  the 
patents  under  which  the  business  is  now  carried  on.  To 
confiscate  them  would  be  an  odious  act  of  injustice  to  private 
persons;  but  to  purchase  them  would  infallibly  occasion  a 
frightful  expense  to  the  public.  The  mere  transmission 
and  delivery  of  messages  could  be  performed  as  well,  al- 
though not  as  cheaply,  by  the  Government,  as  by  private 
persons;  but  the  remainder  of  the  business  could  be  done 
only  at  far  greater  expense. 

If  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is  to  go  into  the 
telegraph  business,  three  questions  will  meet  it  upon  the 
threshold.  Will  it  extend  its  lines  all  over  the  country,  or 
will  it  confine  them  to  a  few  favored  regions?  Will  it  have 
a  monopoly,  or  allow  competition?  Will  it  hire  or  buy  the 
existing  lines,  or  erect  its  own?  And  back  of  these  is  a  still 
more  formidable  one — will  it  manage  the  business  upon 
business  principles,  charging  equal  rates  for  equal  services, 
and  making  the  charges  pay  the  expenses,  or  will  it  delude 
the  people  by  low  rates,  making  up  the  deficiency  by  other 

25 


taxation?  The  first  of  these  questions  can  be  answered  in 
but  one  way.  The  only  justification  for  the  interference  of 
Government  is  that  the  interests  of  the  whole  people  de- 
mand it.  •  It  must  be  maintained  that  it  is  as  much  the  duty 
of  the  Government  to  enable  all  its  citizens  to  communicate 
with  one  another  by  the  telegraph  as  by  the  post,  and  as 
non-paying  post-routes  are  supported  on  this  ground,  so 
must  non-paying  telegraph  routes  be  supported.  The  an- 
swer to  the  first  question  takes  with  it  the  answer  to  the 
second.  If  the  Government  allows  competition  it  must  lose 
money.  The  private  companies  will  abandon  to  it  the  non- 
paying  routes  and  confine  themselves  to  the  paying  routes. 
But  the  only  possible  way  in  which  the  system  can  be  made 
self-supporting  is  by  applying  the  profits  made  upon  the 
paying  lines  to  the  support  of  the  others.  The  Govern- 
ment must  buy  out  the  existing  companies.  Consider- 
ations of  justice  forbid  that  it  should  prohibit  them  from 
prosecuting  their  business,  and  business  considerations  for- 
bid that  it  should  allow  them  to  do  so. 

It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  this  prospect  without 
grave  apprehension.  The  probable  expense  is  so  vast,  and 
the  difficulty  of  the  business  so  great,  that  the  extravagance 
and  impotence  of  the  department  of  the  navy  would  cease 
to  be  remarkable.  There  are  emergencies  when  the  public 
interests  demand  Government  interference  at  whatever  cost. 
In  this  case  it  is  impossible  to  show  that  the  public  would 
not  be  prejudiced  by  such  interference.  It  is  probable  that 
on  an  average  every  person  in  the  country  receives  fifty 
pieces  of  matter  a  year  through  the  mail,  while  he  receives 
but  one  telegram.  The  mail  is,  of  course,  principally  used 
by  the  well-to-do  classes,  but  it  is  a  blessing  to  the  poor 
as  well.  The  telegraph,  however,  is  used  exclusively  by 
wealthy  persons.  Probably  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  country  have  <nev,er  received  a  despatch.  Their 
simple  affairs  require  no  such  expedition,  and  will  bear  no 
such  expense.  But  if  the  Government' is  to  assume  the  busi- 
ness, it  is  highly  probable  that  the  burdens  of  the  poor  will 
be  increased,  in  order  that  the  rich  may  enjoy  a  luxury 
without  paying  for  it.  The  deficiency  that  will  certainly 
result  must  be  met  by  taxation,  which,  owing  to  the  method 


26 


in  which  our  revenue  is   raised,  must  be  paid  in  great  part 
by  those  who  are  not  benefited  by  its   expenditure. 

No  measure  that  involves  the  increase  of  the  civil  service 
of  the  United  States  ought  to  be  adopted,  except  under  the 
spur  of  necessity.  Some  of  the  more  sanguine  of  the  civil 
service  reformers  seem  to  think  that  reform  has  been  al- 
ready secured.  We  are  of  opinion  that  they  will  be  dis- 
appointed; but  however  that  may  be,  they  have  certainly 
omitted  a  vital  element  from  their  measures  in  not  depriving 
Government  officers  of  the  right  of  voting.  To  establish 
permanency  of  tenure  without  this  restriction,  is  to  put  the 
administration  in  possession  of  a  standing  army.  It  would 
be  the  height  of  folly  for  officers  of  Government  to  vote 
against  the  party  in  power.  Their  position  is  secure  while 
things  remain  as  they  are;  it  may  be  endangered  by  a 
change,  and  discipline  as  well  as  interest  will  make  them 
conservative.  There  is  an  unfortunate  itching  for  foreign 
institutions  among  a  certain  class  of  our  citizens.  They 
desire  to  see  the  General  Government  of  this  country  en- 
dowed with  the  attributes  of  the  Government  of  Prussia  or 
Great  Britain,  regardless  of  the  peculiarities  of  our  consti- 
tution. These  countries  have  a  highly  centralized  admin- 
istration. We  have  not,  and  we  do  not  want  one.  The 
arguments  for  Governmental  control  of  the  railroads  are 
quite  as  strong,  to  say  the  least,  as  those  for  the  control 
of  the  telegraph.  All  such  schemes  are  socialistic.  They 
tend  to  bring  upon  us  those  dismal  days  of  the  future,  when 
Government  shall  attempt  to  support  vast  hordes  of  em- 
ployes in  ruinous  business  ventures,  making  up  its  losses 
by  taxing  that  unfortunate  remnant  of  its  citizens  who  are 
able  to  conduct  their  own  affairs  at  a  profit. 

North   American.    149:   569-79.   November,    1889. 

Are   Telegraph    Rates   Too   High?    Norvin   Green. 

Within  the  last  twenty-four  years,  and  since  that  com- 
pany [Western  Union]  has  been  domiciled  at  the  city  of 
New  York,  more  than  twenty-five  million  dollars  of  its 
cash  earnings,  and  the  proceeds  of  six  million  three  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  bonds,  making  nearly  thirty- 

27 


one  and  a  half  millions  in  cash,  have  been  expended  in  the 
construction  and  extension  of  its  lines  and  in  the  purchase 
of  additional  telegraph  properties;  and  during  the  same 
period  twenty-eight  million  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  of 
its  capital  stock  have  been  paid  for  the  purchase  of  the 
various  telegraph  companies  it  has  absorbed.  Sixty-one 
and  a  half  millions  have  been  expended  in  the  growth  and 
extension  of  its  system  since  1866,  in  addition  to  the  forty- 
one  millions  of  capitalization  at  that  date.  Its  leased  prop- 
erties, including  its  trans-Atlantic  and  Gulf  cables,  repre- 
sent about  twenty-five  millions  more.  With  the  other  and 
smaller  systems  of  telegraph  added,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  one 
hundred  and  forty  millions  of  dollars  have  been  invested  in 
telegraph  properties  in  this  country. 

Some  of  the  lines  paid  for  in  capital  stock  were  pur- 
chased at  prices  somewhat  above  the  cost  of  their  construc- 
tion; while  against  that,  over  thirty-one  millions  of  cash 
expended  in  the  construction  of  lines  under  railroad  con- 
tracts, with  the  assistance  of  free  transportation  and  labor, 
would  have  cost  50  per  cent  more  but  for  these  advantages. 
The  surplus  of  these  investments,  unrepresented  by  any  form 
of  capitalization,  is  now  about  ten  and  one-half  millions, — 
more  than  sufficient  to  counterbalance  the  alleged  inflations 
in  the  early  years  of  the  history  of  telegraph  companies.  The 
capitalization  as  it  now  stands  is  not  above  the  cost  value  of 
the  company's  properties,  while  a  distinguished  advocate  of 
a  government  telegraph  has  repeatedly  asserted  that  he  con- 
sidered the  contracts  of  the  company  of  greater  value  than 
its  properties. 

Having  demonstrated  the  cost  of  telegraph  service,  and 
that  it  is  more  than  75  per  cent,  of  the  rates  charged  to  the 
public,  the  profit  out  of  which  interest  on  bonded  debt  has 
to  be  paid  does  not  appear  to  be  exorbitant;  nor  does  it 
appear  that  a  further  reduction  of  rates  could  be  reasonably 
demanded  until  the  increase  of  business  shall  have  brought 
about  a  reduction  in  the  cost  of  the  service.  There  are 
few  other  large  corporations  that  could  pay  interest  on  their 
bonded  debt  and  other  fixed  charges  out  of  such  meagre 
profits,  and  have  anything  left  for  their  stockholders. 

In  every  country  of  Europe  the  government  owns  and 
operates  the  telegraph.  There  is  no  recognized  responsibil- 

28 


ity  to  the  customer  for  errors  or  delays,  and  little  or  no  sat- 
isfaction afforded  in  answers  to  complaints.  A  sort  of 
stereotyped  form  of  acknowledgment  is,  substantially,  that 
the  matter  will  be  inquired  into,  and  if  there  be  found  cause 
of  complaint  the  employees  at  fault  will  be  disciplined.  That 
is  supposed  to  end  the  correspondence,  and  the  complain- 
ant never  gets  any  redress  or  any  further  information  in  re- 
gard to  the  erroneous  transmission  or  miscarriage  of  his 
message. 

Most  of  the  governments  find  it  necessary  to  control  the 
telegraph  for  the  very  reason  that  its  control  by  the  govern- 
ment in  this  country  has  been  opposed — namely,  to  protect 
the  government  from  the  people.  It  is  probable  that  very 
cheap  rates  for  telegraph  service  are  given  to  the  public 
to  reconcile  the  people  to  this  enormous  engine  of  power 
and  espionage  in  the  hands  of  the  government.  The  rates 
within  the  comparatively  narrow  limits  of  any  one  of  these 
countries  for  short  distances,  rarely  exceeding  five  hundred 
miles,  are  generally  somewhat  lower  than  they  are  in  the 
United  States.  But  between  any  two  or  more  of  these  gov- 
ernment systems  the  rates  are  much  higher  than  in  this 
country,  while  the  service  is  incomparably  worse.  Every 
one  who  has  travelled  in  Europe  will  testify  to  that.  With 
rare  exceptions  their  telegraph  service  is  provokingly  unsat- 
isfactory. 

In  an  article  published  in  The  North  American  Review 
in  November,  1883,  the  views  of  an  experienced  news- 
gatherer,  in  regard  to  the  comparative  merits  of  the  tele- 
graph service  in  Europe  and  America,  were  given  in  detail 
and  at  some  length,  showing  a  state  of  facts  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  experience  of  those  who  succeeded  him  in  the 
extensive  use  of  European  telegraphs,  still  exists.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  gives  the  summing-up  of  his  conclusions 
tersely  and  pointedly: 

"It  has  been  forced  upon  my  conviction  by  twelve  years  of 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  business  in  America  six  years 
of  continuous  experience  in  the  same  business  in  Europe  that  the 
average  time  of  transmission  on  the  Western  Union  lines  is 
shorter  than  on  any  system  in  Europe  or  in  any  country  of  Eu- 
rope; and  that  the  number  of  errors  made  by  American  operators 
is  much  smaller  than  by  European  operators;  and  in  these  re- 
spects and  all  others  connected  with  the  principal  part  of  the 
telegraph  service  the  private  companies  have  made  steady  and 
continuous  improvement,  while  the  tendency  in  Europe  is  to 
stagnate  or  retrograde." 

29 


Whether  from  these  reasons  or  the  low  rates  of  tolls,  or 
both  combined,  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  all  government 
telegraph  systems  are  operated  at  a  loss.  In  some  instances 
the  accounts  are  so  blended  with  those  of  other  departments 
of  the  government  that  the  precise  measure  of  loss  cannot 
be  readily  demonstrated;  but  it  is  not  claimed  by  any  gov- 
ernment that  its  telegraph  system  pays  expenses.  In  Great 
Britain,  however,  the  accounts  are  kept  more  distinct,  and 
the  annual  statements,  showing  the  gross  receipts,  expendi- 
tures, interest  on  debt,  and  deficit  of  the  telegraph  depart- 
ment, are  incorporated  in  the  annual  report  of  the  Post- 
master-General. 

The  last  report  of  the  British  Postmaster-General  that 
has  reached  this  country  is  for  the  fiscal  year  i887-'88.  A 
tabular  statement,  showing  the  earnings,  expenses,  and  in- 
terest on  bonds  of  the  telegraph  department  is  given  on 
page  9  of  that  report,  which  shows  that  the  telegraph  de- 
partment never  did  earn  any  considerable  part  of  the  3  per 
cent,  interest  on  the  bonds  given  for  the  purchase  and  ex- 
tension of  the  telegraph,  and  that  since  the  reduction  of 
the  rate  in  1884  it  has  earned  no  part  of  that  interest;  and 
although  the  other  departments  of  the  government  pay  full 
rates  for  their  telegraph  service,  the  earnings  have  not  been 
equal  to  current  expenses.  Leaving  out  the  interest  on 
bonds,  the  expenses  for  the  last  five  years  stated  were  more 
than  £160,000  ($800,000)  in  excess  of  the  revenues. 

But  while  the  European  rates  are,  in  most  instances,  low- 
er for  short  distances,  they  are  immensely  higher  for  long 
distances.  The  rate  of  forty  cents  carries  the  ordinary  mes- 
sage from  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Washington,  or  Balti- 
more to  Chicago  or  St.  Louis — a  distance  of  one  thousand 
miles  and  over;  while  nowhere  in  Europe  (except  between 
Paris  and  Algiers  over  the  French  Government  cable)  "can 
the  same  message  be  sent  that  distance  for  less  than  twice 
the  amount  charged  in  this  country.  Messages  from  Chi- 
cago or  St.  Louis  to  San  Francisco  and  other  points  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  distant  from  twenty-five  hundred  to  three 
thousand  miles,  are  transmitted  for  seventy-five  cents,  while 
nowhere  in  Europe  can  the  same  message  be  sent  a  like 
distance  for  less  than  four  times  the  tolls  charged  in  this 
country.  Even  for  the  shorter  distances,  where  the  mes- 

30 


sage  is  between  two  or  more  systems,  the  European  rates 
are  very  much  higher  than  those  of  this  Country.  For  the 
maximum  rate  of  one  dollar,  a  message  may  be  transmitted 
between  the  most  distant  points  at  which  there  are  tele- 
graph offices  in  the  United  States,  the  extreme  distance  being 
something  over  four  thousand  miles. 

And  why  should  not  the  rates  in  the  old  countries  of 
Europe  be  lower  than  in  this  country?  The  systems  are 
mo're  compact,  the  population  is  more  dense,  and  the  lines 
are  located  mostly  in  an  open  country,  requiring  less  ex- 
pense for  repairs  and  maintenance.  The  chief  item  of  the 
cost  of  telegraph  service  is  the  pay  of  operators,  which  in 
those  countries  is  less  than  one-half  of  that  paid  for  opera- 
tors in  this  country,  while  the  business  is  concentrated  in  a 
smaller  area  and  on  shorter  lines.  Take,  .for  instance,  the 
British  system  as  compared  with  that  of  this  country — a 
system  embracing  30,255  miles  of  line,  178,962  miles  of  wire, 
and  6,810  offices,  and  covering  an  area  of  about  129,000 
square  miles.  That  system  transmitted,  during  the  year  1887- 
'88,  53,403,429  messages;  while  over  the  principal  system  in 
this  country,  covering  an  area  of  3,000,000  square  miles, 
nearly  twenty-five  times  as  great,  embracing  171,375  miles 
of  line,  616,248  miles  of  wire,  and  17,241  offices,  mostly  in 
a  sparsely-settled  and  wooded  country,  there  were  trans- 
mitted 51,463,955  messages.  To  do  a  smaller  amount  of  busi- 
ness by  nearly  two  millions  of  messages  there  had  to  be 
maintained  in  this  country  more  than  five  and  one-half  times 
as  many  miles  of  line,  three  and  one-half  times  as  many 
miles  of  wire,  and  nearly  three  times  as  many  offices.  With 
less  than  one-fifth  of  the  mileage  of  lines,  less  than  one- 
third  the  amount  of  wire,  and  with  a  little  over  one-third 
the  number  of  offices,  covering  one-twenty-fifth  part  of  the 
area,  with  cheaper  wire,  cheaper  instruments,  and  cheaper 
battery  and  stationery  supplies,  and  lower-priced  labor,  the 
repairs,  maintenance,  equipment,  and  supplies  on  the  British 
system  could  scarcely  cost  one-fourth  as  mtich  as  on  the 
larger  system  in  this  country.  The  salaries  of  operators, 
messengers,  and  office  employees  being  less  than  one-half 
the  rates  paid  in  this  country  for  like  service,  it  should  not 
cost  more  than  half  as  much  to  transmit  and  deliver  mes- 
sages in  Great  Britain  as  in  the  United  States,  especially  tak- 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 


Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


JAN  28  1948 


LD  21-100m-9,'47(A5702sl6)476 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  IvIBRARY 


